CHAPTER
16.-- ALASKA

12/23/16

A.ALASKA
AS A MISSION FIELD

Alaska is a mission field because 90 percent of her
738,000 citizens are not born
again nor could they hear the gospel from the existent small, struggling
churches. Once a foreign mission field, Alaska attained statehood in 1959,
which made the evangelization of its natives and immigrants a priority of
National Missions. Alaska's location, geography, climate, and people influence
missionary service far more than any other National Mission field.

B.LOCATION

Located 500 miles
northwest of the state of Washington, America's "last frontier," which
is the forty-ninth state's nickname, is accessible by air, sea, or a marathon
1,671-mile drive over the Alaska Highway, crossing Canada's British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. The
terminus of the highway is Fairbanks, located in the central part of the
state. As Alaska's second-largest city, boasting 34,000 people, it is only 100
miles from the Arctic Circle. In the mountain range to the south is the
highest point in the United States--Mt. McKinley (20,320 feet). Because
Alaska is remote it presents frontierlike conditions for missionary
service.

Alaska's western neighbor, Russia, located only fifty-seven miles away across the
Bering Strait, discovered this land in 1741. It was from the USSR that
Secretary of State William Seward had the foresight to purchase in 1897 what
was to become the country's largest oil producer. Not everyone was
favorably impressed with this frigid and sparsely populated land, even at the
bargain price of two cents per acre and a total cost of 7.1 million dollars.
The disenchanted called it "Seward's Icebox." Even the Russians were
happy to divest themselves of this barren land.

The United Sates
military considers Alaska a strategic location for defense. During World War II nearly 40
percent of the populace was in the military services, but now only 33,000
military personnel are stationed there.

Some of the peoples are
Slavic in origin, having migrated from eastern Russia and intermarried.
The Russian Orthodox church became the national church and continues to
be the largest religious body, with eighty-three churches and 10,000 members
representing half the Christian community. Religion, for the majority, is but
a facade with very little meaning.

C.GEOGRAPHY

The geography of Alaska shapes the lives of the
people and isolates them from one another. Through the years the natives have
learned to cope with the conditions, but outsiders find the adaptation process
extremely demanding. The land is massive, equaling one-fifth the
land mass of the contiguous states. It stretches 1,200 miles north and south
and 2,200 miles east and west. It is twice the size of Texas but ranks
fiftieth in population; whereas Texas has fifty-three persons per square mile,
Alaska has one person. Thirty-six percent of the populace is scattered in 200
isolated villages, often forty to sixty miles apart. Fishing villages
found along the rugged coastline, which stretches for nearly as many
miles as that of the lower forty-eight states, are connected with an often
undependable ferry system. Remote mountain villages may be connected
with ski trails or those trails left by snowmobiles. The many villages
scattered along the Yukon and other rivers are accessible depending on the
season, by boat, bush pilot, or snowmobile, for there are only 10,000 miles of
roads, mostly connecting the five mainland cities--Anchorage, Fairbanks,
Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan.

The land may be divided
into seven areas that stretch like bands laterally across the state. Each area
is nearly isolated from the others geographically; therefore, the people and
their life-styles vary widely. Even missions are often limited to
working in certain areas. The southernmost band divides into two areas
resembling the opposing sides of a handle bar mustache. To the east and
following down the coast is the panhandle. This area includes Juneau (the
capital), Sitka, and Ketchikan. It is home for 6,000 maritime Indians
XE "Indians", the Tlingits, Haida, and Tsimshians. Gospel
Missionary Union has planted three churches among the Indians and has
developed several ministries among the 50,000 who inhabit the panhandle. The
panhandle is attached on the north end by means of the coastal range bordering
the Gulf of Alaska.

A National Geographic
writer describes the gulf as

a wilderness on the edge of
a wilderness, remote by water, remote by land, rimmed by ice fields, glaciers,
and the second highest coastal mountains in the world. The people live in a
few small towns and a scattering of cabins...Like the rest of Alaska, the gulf is a harsh place to live...attracting young people who are disposed
toward an absence of society.

Nearly half of Alaska's population is to be found
in Anchorage, the largest city of 300,000, and in Valdez, the terminus of the
800-mile pipeline from the north slope. Ironically, the pipeline cost
1,000 times the original purchase price of the whole state. Baptist
Mid-Missions, headquartered here, has established the Anchorage Baptist Bible
Institute and also plants churches in the "bush."Solid Rock
Ministries has a camp at Soldotna.

Area two is west of
Anchorage and includes the peninsula and seventy Aleutian islands. It is home
for 7,000 Aleuts among whom sixteen Slavic Gospel Association
workers have been working since 1940. They have planted six churches.

Moving inland, area
three encompasses the Alaska Basin, bordered on the north by the Alaska Range, which constitutes area
four. Send International (formerly Central Alaska Mission), is
headquartered in Glenallen and began work in 1936 in the basin. The mission
maintains Alaska Bible College, a medical work, a radio station,
KCAM, which blankets the area with the Good News, and does church
planting.

The heartland of Alaska, area five, is dissected
by several rivers that are dominated by the 2,000-mile Yukon River. The
Athabascan Indianshave built scattered, isolated
villages along the rivers. The largest faith mission, InterAct [Arctic
Missions], has been evangelizing this area since 1951 and has 165 missionaries
who work with six churches, the Arctic Bible Institute, a junior high school,
a camp, a bookstore, and church planting ministries.

The last two areas are
within the Arctic Circle. Area six includes the Brooks Range, which is
essentially uninhabited except for scattered villages found in the
mountain passes. Finally, the Arctic plains of the far north polar region are
home for the Eskimos. They also live along the western
coast. More than a third of North America's 60,000 Eskimos live in Alaska. The term Eskimo means "eater of raw meat," reflecting the primitive
conditions under which they may live. Most Alaskan Eskimos (22,000) live
in settled villages, but those living in Greenland (23,000) and Siberia
(12,000) may be nomadic. Pierce Beaver indicates that the Christian community
numbers 20,000 Eskimos attending 138 churches. Over half of those belong to
the Catholic church and 2,600 are Moravian; another 1,500 are Episcopalian,
and 1,300 are United Presbyterian. Faith missions are represented by Send
International,[1981] [formerly Far Eastern Gospel Crusade
1947] which has planted three churches attended by 118 members.

D.CLIMATE

The climate of Alaska varies from the temperate
panhandle to the subzero (-80 degrees F.) temperatures of the high elevations,
especially the northern end of the state lying above the Arctic Circle. At
times the wind chill factor can reach 100 degrees (F.) below zero. The Eskimos
have been especially
endowed with a thick layer of flesh on the face and a short stubby body to
cope with these temperatures, but they still have to be cautious.

The long, hard
winters are the most difficult for the missionaries in the bush. Most
everyone heats with wood, because heating oil is expensive. Much time is
required to prepare the substantial number of cords of wood needed for those
months. It may be necessary to travel several miles to find dry wood.
Before the freeze, the wood can be floated down the river, but later a dog
sled or snowmobile will be used.

Another problem is
maintaining a balanced diet. Game meats are available and some dry
staples that have been flown in from the village store may be purchased. But
fruits and vegetables are scarce.

Most areas of Alaska have a summer season during
June, July, and August, when the average temperature ranges from 68 degrees to
76 degrees.

The coastal regions are
plagued with dense fog, substantial rain, and calving glaciers. Violent
storms are common fare. Such climactic conditions can be very depressing, but
the fishermen hazard them because of the great wealth involved in the
fishing industry.

The missionary who
contemplates working in Alaska will need to consider the special demands the climate can impose. Alaskan
service may require strenuous physical labor, periods of isolation, and
few supplies and conveniences. Bush ministry is for one who likes the life of
an outdoorsman and is willing to work in a rural village of
100-300 people.

E.PEOPLE

The native population of
Alaska, numbering 64,000
(16 percent of the state population) overwhelmingly lives in bush country, for
only 8 percent are urban. The natives are divided among three groups. The
Inuit [Eskimos] number 28,800, the Indians
XE "Indians" number 28,200, and the Aleuts are
7,000. The Indians may be further subdivided into four groups: the
Athabascans, 21,000; Tlingits, 4,500; Tsimshians, 850; and
the Haida, 600. The Aleuts are related to the Eskimos, but neither is
Indian.

Urban Alaskans
make up 64 percent of the populace. They earn 23 percent more than the average
American, which reflects the higher cost of living. Oil revenues fill state
coffers sufficiently so that in 1980 the state income tax was removed. During
the decade of the 1970s the urban population grew by 34 percent. The
construction industry is ever busy; however, the government is the
largest employer. Tourism (100,000 annually), fishing, and
manufacturing offer many jobs. Urban church planting needs to receive a
higher priority by the faith missions. John Gillespie of InterAct notes that
faith missions work primarily with native people in the villages.

F.MISSIONS ACTIVITY

Within fifty years of
the discovery of Alaska,
the Orthodox church began to evangelize the natives in 1792. The Lutheran
church sent missionaries in 1840, before Alaska was purchased. Six other
denominations became active before the Gold Rush in 1898, when the
population nearly doubled.

Recognizing the
overwhelming expanse of the state, the denominations entered into a comity of
missions whereby they sought to avoid duplication of ministry. By this means
each group worked in a different region that became known as the ministry of a
particular church. Those entering to work in a particular area now must
recognize this heritage.

Conditions in bush
Alaska are rapidly
changing. Today most of the larger villages have public elementary and
secondary schools, provided by either the Bureau of Indian Affairs XE "Bureau
of Indian Affairs" or Iditarod, the
state-run system. This eliminates the problem natives face with sending their
children to the city to attend high school. It also lessens the need for
mission high schools and provides opportunity for national Christians to teach
in the public school system.

Transportation
remains a major problem for bush missionaries. Roads are either nonexistent or
very poor. River travel, which includes the cost of the boat, motor, and fuel,
is expensive. Dog sleds and the huskies are very popular and are often
entered in the state's annual dog sled race. The modern snowmobile, although
expensive, is very popular. Most villages have airstrips, but bush
pilots are not always reliable; therefore, Missionary Aviation Fellowship
is a great help to missionaries.

A great need exists to
train national pastors. Three of the five church-planting faith
missions working in Alaska
have established Bible schools for the training of the natives and whites.
Two of those began in the late 1960s. A survey in 1978 revealed that there
were only thirty-nine native pastors serving in 309 churches. The survey
further indicated that the average age of those men was 63. The conclusion
reached from this report was that "missions in Alaska have not been successful
in producing native Christian leaders." Circumstances have improved
dramatically.

Alcoholism is widespread in the Indian
communities. No final explanation has been given to indicate why this is so.
Perhaps joblessness, isolation, boredom, competition and a host of other
reasons contribute. But without question, the only answer to the problem is
the power to conquer through a vital relationship with Jesus Christ.
Counseling ministries have a high priority for it has been discovered that
there is an abnormally high rate of all kinds of abuse of Indian
children and women of all ages.

Although improving,
medical service in the bush is minimal. Resident doctors are at a minimum;
therefore airlift to the nearest hospital makes the bush pilot a vital link in
health care. Life expectancy is well below the national average with a heavy
toll exacted by fighting, accident, flu and pneumonia, and a suicide
rate ten times the national average. Many children are orphaned; therefore,
the American Baptists established a children's home in Kodiak. The
residents are 81 percent native.

Communication media in
Alaska have mushroomed
with the advent of fourteen newspapers, twenty-two radio stations and
sixteen television stations. Two of the radio stations are Christian
broadcasters.

Denominational missions
are working in Alaska as
well as church-planting faith missions supported by service organizations.
Wycliffe Bible Translators is finishing up its work and will be closing out
its Alaska field. The New Testament is available in Eskimo/Inupiaq from the
American Bible Society. Although there are
twenty living languages in Alaska, only the older natives use them;
English is the medium of instruction in the schools. A mission brochure
summarizes: "The old Indians speak only their native tongue. Middle-aged Indians are bilingual. The
young people speak only English."

Within the native
community of 64,000 are 43,000 (71 percent) nominal Christians. The largest
group is Orthodox (36 percent). The other two groups are Protestant (18
percent) and Catholic (17 percent).

Presently there are over
374 missionaries working under twelve boards. Two hundred churches serve a
membership of several thousand. Send International reports that they have
started a new ministry among the fastest growing minority group in Alaska, the Japanese, who remain isolated from the gospel.

The Southern Baptists
are the largest evangelical group in the state. They have 62 churches, 18
preaching points, with approximately 12,000 members. FAIRBANKS: They have
ministry among the Blacks at St. John Baptist Church which has 295 resident
members. The Friendship Baptist Church, once known as Eskimo Baptist Mission,
is multi-ethnic. University Baptist Church, 167 members, has sponsored the
planting of a Spanish and a Chinese church and a literacy school. First
Baptist Church [864] is located at North Pole, AK. Most of the members are
military personnel and tourists. The town boasts a 20 foot high statue of
Santa Claus.

ANCHORAGE: There are 36
Southern Baptist congregations, five of which are between 200 and 300 members.
Three minister to the 65,000 Blacks in the area. There is a Thai Bible study
group, a Hispanic ministry, a Korean mission, a Filipino church. Missionary
Linda Hokit indicates that Anchorage is the largest native village in Alaska, with high rates of rape,
alcoholism XE "alcoholism"
and abuse.